Post in English - ¿Cualquier persona sabe quiénes son los buenos abastecedores móviles en España?

OK, I've looked online, searched the internet far and wide, compared A with B with C, and I'm stuck. Why? Well I need a cell phone when I get to Espain, and I dont know which one to get.

In Poland, I have Orange, and to be quite honest, it was great, than in France I have Vodafone, and it was good too - obviously the French one raped me on the cost of SMS' (Text messages for all you American folk), but then again that is to be expected. Euro were flying out my pocket last time I was in Paris, but it is an expensive city - even phone wise.

So thus far, I'm thinking Movistar or Vodafone or Amena... at the moment I'm thinking Movistar since 65% of them locals done use it... but the thing is, I need something that suits my phone usage needs, here in th3 States that T-Mobile (unlimited txt messages), there I have no idea - I'm so confused, I feel like I'm at Starbucks.

I've also managed to find a pretty nifty site for anyone moving to any number of places, it's called Just Landed, check it out.

Checklist, World Cup, Downtime

Downtime – yup. Pretty much ready and good to go here, got my bank account opened, loans are ready for disbursement, most of my material goods have been pawned off, including my soon to be ex car, visa – don’t need one, insurance, got to get that insurance, will fax that tomorrow, and the plane ticket needs buying. But other than that, all my things are pretty much wrapped up here in the good ‘ol US of A – so now, to sit back and try to enjoy the World Cup – I don’t have any annual leave you see, used that in conjunction with my sick leave to cover my leg operation – oh well, sneaking out at lunch time it is :)

Hope everyone has a most splendid summer, I’ll try to post something relevant here should the need arise, but for the time being, it’s getting to be WC time, and I’m going to tune out for the next month and a half. Be seeing you from Barcelona.

- Jacek

If HBS is so good, why’s it accept college drop outs?

Yup, ya heard me right. Read about it here in the Economist, and I just saw it here as well @ clearadmit - Blake Gottesman, a 1st year college drop out from nothing more than the equivalent of a Texan community college gets to go to Harvard Business School because he brought the president, as in one Mr. George W. Bush, coffee. While carrying coffee can be seen in certain circles as an activity befitting only the most lackluster individuals, it is, apparently at Harvard, a pre-requisite criteria for entry. It's a good thing I didn't apply, I buy my coffee on the corner.

However that is not to say that someone such as a legislative aid on Capitol Hill would not have a shot at Harvard, I in fact have a very good friend who is just that, he works for Congressman Honda, out of California – and truth be told is spearheading a very interesting project at the moment. But what one Mr. Gottesman has that my friend does not, is that he dated the President’s daughter. And while my freind, like the rest of us, has to work, be creative, involve himself, and really be a go getter to get that grad diploma. He didn't date the president's daughter, and unlike Mr. Gottesman, will probably have to do better than drop out of college and in all lieklihood score a 420 on his GMAT (yes, the pun was intended).

Regardless, I find this all absolutely pathetic. That HBS would on the word of the president, and such a poor one might I add, accept this buffoon into their ’08 intake, where I am sure that there were hundreds of qualified individuals who would have made much better choices, who actually have some sort of considerable talent other than bringing coffee of course, and who in all likelihood deserve to be in that class.

But hey… that’s life right. So let's give Harvard a great round of applause for last year's insult of women, and this year's brilliant admissions choice.

Oh, and in case anyone forgot - midterm elections are in November.

My Reservations Concerning IESE?

Ok, before I continue I want to say that I was asked to go into this, so instead of writing out e-mails, so on and so forth I’m posting it here – one more thing – I know this is a smidge later than my usual progression of posts. I had a very very very long last week.

Anyways, onto the topic at hand.

That Whole Ranking Thing
Fist off, both schools are good, and although IESE is currently ranked higher overall, BW and especially WSJ rank ESADE higher, WSJ, in fact ranks it No.2 Internationally after IMD. For anyone who doesn’t know WSJ ranks based on the assessments of recruiters, meaning, if recruiters like you, you get hired. I would in fact consider this, along with the FT rankings the most important (Personally, I find The EIU’s rankings full of it. While The Economist is a brilliant publication, it’s rankings put E.M. Lyon above RSM? Absurd…).

Interesting thing about the FT rankings is if you look at ESADE, it looks to be one of the quickest movers of all the schools, rapidly heading into the top 20 globally (IESE is No. 13 in 2006).

So why a school that’s moving forward instead of one that’s higher but staying still? The way I see it, is as follows, I would rather see myself in a class where students are really shaping the university, I want to leave my mark on the institution, and I believe this will simply be easier to accomplish at ESADE. Furthermore, people are more inclined to talk about a school that is rapidly getting ever better than one which stands still. This is a good example of NYU for example. A number of years ago NYU wasn’t even ranked, today it stands as one of the best MBA institutions in the world.

¿Como se dice?
Languages. ESADE has the best language school in Spain, it’s MBA is bi-lingual, and in addition to teaching excellent Spanish, also offers courses in both French and German. Being that I will absolutely require full working knowledge of French if I want to go into, what, I want to go into. I saw the lack of a language program at IESE as one of the most crippling aspects of their program. By the time I graduate from ESADE, I full well know that I will be fluent in Spanish, and French, where as now, I just have a working knowledge of the former, and a laughable excuse for the latter.

Case Method contra Mixture of Everything
While I consider the case method of teaching to be valuable, I do not agree that relying as heavily on it as IESE does is the best way of actually conveying information to the students. As a graduate of Tulane University’s Business school, I can say that we worked with cases, as well as on projects, etc… the cases we did, proved very valuable, but at the same time, I feel that utter reliance on them leaves a lot to be desired knowledgably. Additionally, there specializations that ESADE has, especially Policy are exactly what I am looking for in a program.

Cambio in el Administración
ESADE and IESE are both run very well, both look at international markets, ESADE just called for a pan-European energy policy (that I actually agree with), while IESE opened an Executive Training Center in Warsaw (which the region needs). However, ESADE’s admin is grabbing the bull by the horns so to say, and really pushing for new program implementation. In this respect I believe that they are as much if not more-so forward thinking than IESE. ESADE is growing faster, it’s blooming, and IESE in my opinion has bloomed.

Culture
Finally, the culture - meeting people from the universities, students, faculty, and alumni, I just felt more at home with ESADE. It’s the same problem I had when I went to info sessions with Harvard and Wharton. I found most people from ESADE to have more of that Alpha cockiness which was relevant at Wharton as well, whereas IESE I found to be much more like Harvard, “nose in the air” snobby.

And the way I see it, while someone’s got their nose in the air thinking their shit don’t stink, it’s the guy who knows his shit stinks and doesn’t care that will see the goal and reach the finish line because he wont care about the odor. – Or something like that :)

Conclusion
All in all it all depends on personal decision, for me with was being in something motile, something moving forward, helping to make it better, and it also had a lot to do with the language school. Regardless, each school is great, and in spite of rivalry between the two schools, I’ve already managed to make two friends from the “other” school whom I will have drinks with in BCN. In the end, it’s about what you get out of it, and the network you build, and trust me when I tell you that mine will incorporate both the ESADE class of ’07 & ’08, but also the IESE ones.

IESE / Imperial College Tanaka / Georgetown Essays

As previously stated, I am posting the rest of my essays for your viewing pleasure and hope that they will help any future applicants in their MBA application process, after all, if you can’t give anything back – why bother.

Additionally, I have made a link on the sidebar to allow for easy reference to these files, and I will use this to post any future files, works, etc… that I hope will help any prospective and current students in the future.

Anyways, here they are…

IESE MBA Call ‘08
IMPERIAL: TANAKA MBA Call ‘08
GEORGETOWN MBA Call ‘08

As you can see, there is a definite theme evolving here, you can also see from my previous essays and these ones that the schools which fell closer to the bottom of my list got considerably less attention than my top choices.

ESADE after all - en definitivo...

I'm going to ESADE after all :) - and truth be told I couldn't be happier. ESADE is shooting through the rankings, and they are ever working towards making their school even better. Truth be told, I had this gut feeling I wanted to go to ESADE after all, and after speaking with the ad-com, and people who’d graduated, I think the school is a better fit for me personality wise, and like I said, in the end I think it all comes down to what MBA program is the best fit for you, I really think ESADE is it. I'm rambling

But it seems that my pathetic performance during the VC, along with a late in the game application has led to me being dinged from IESE. Truth be told, I know where my application was weak, and given I'd remedied these weak points, I'm almostcertain I would have gotten in. Would I have gotten in - now that it's all over, I'm not sure which school I would have chosen, each has considerable benefits, and each offsets each other's weaknesses. Comparing them side to side I at least would have found the end decision difficult, and contrary to popular belief it's not all aout rankings, yes they are very important, but if it were strictly about numbers my arse would have gotten in nowhere, you know that 2.234 Undergrad GPA I keep telling you about.

There were also a number of reservations that I had on IESE which I partially wanted to keep from this website. You know, in case the adcoms read it (Which looking at my clustermap, they probably do). Anywho...

So, while reviewing MBA programs, I read that the WSJ said ESADE, while a great school, lacks self-confidence. In that case, I think it’s time to work towards building that self confidence up, by being the best I can, working towards making the school more internationally renown, by starting clubs, getting speakers, and trying to establish an eastern outlook – basically, doing a general lot of arse kicking while I’m there – can’t wait, should be fun.

And best of luck to all the students from IESE, LBS, RSM, HEC, etc... who read this, but try not to get your panties in a bunch when you come up against me in any MBA competitions. :)

Cheers, best of luck to everyone in their respective programs, and all that other goodness. We've got a fun, stressful, and exciting couple of years ahead of us.

- Jacek

P.S. - If anyone’s in NY, and would care to meet up with myself and two other future ESADE students this Thursday 18/5 (or 5/18 in the US), drop me a line jgrebski @ yahoo . com

P.P.S. - I was also informed by an IESE grad I met this weekend who did not have a chance to speak to the ad-com on my behalf that ESADE has better looking girls. Marcello, perchè non avete suo e-mail, perchè? Eh, qualunque....

(Polish) Why don’t you just get your MBA in Poland? Or... Dlaczego nie podyplomowe w Polsce?

Jak powiedzialem rodzinie ze sie dostalem do RSM u to sie cieszyli ze ide na studia podyplomowe. Kiedy im powiedzialem ze skladam do IESE i ESADE, to byli zdziwieni ze nie zdecydowalem sie isc do Polskiego uniwerka po dyplom.

I to jest wlasnie to, dla nich Polskie szkoly sa w porzadku, mimo ze w strefie Europejskiej, albo i miedzynarodowej sie poprostu nie licza. OK, WSH jest dobra na Polske, ale w porownaniu nawet z Tulane to wysiada.

Ale to nie jest tylko brak wiedzy mojej rodziny, jak by nie bylo mam w niej profesorow, inzynierow, doktorow, itd… to jest poprostu brak tej znajomosci - jak sie podchodzi do zycia poza krajem a szczegulnie na zachodzie. Zeby zdobyc wszystkie swoje cele, to tutaj czlowiek musi sie wybijac, byc lepszym, ambitnym, na trudnosci sie usmiechac i przez nie sie przebijac.

Zeby dostac sie tam, dokad wlasnie chce sie isc, trzeba byc najlepszym, patrzec na siebie obiektywnie i podejmowac decyzje ktore ukierunkuja czlowieka na cel. W UG, albo WSH ja nie dojde do tego czego chce uzyskac, i dokonac, i dlatego wlasnie musze pojsc na uczelnie w Europie, a nie w Ameryce, i dlatego tez na najlepsza ktora mnie zaakceptuje. Kompromizu na to nie ma...

... tego sie jakos jeszce w RP sie nie kapuje, trzeba sie poprostu wybic.

A pozatym chce dodac ze jak komus idzie, to maja do tej osoby niechec, i zazdrosc, zamiast popatrzec na wlasne problemy, to narzekaja na innych. To jest jescze problem, ale powoli, mysle ze sie to tez sie zmienia na dobre.

A na sam koniec to podaje Polskie rankingi programow MBA (Polish MBA Rankings)

P.S. I could really use a Polish version of Word to go along my Eenglish one, who checks spelling these days :/

The Economist – Special Report on Poland

In the May 13th – 19th 2006 special report, The Economist covers Poland, the country’s development, government, loss of intellectual capital, things that exemplify hope in the country and the things that need fixing.

While, I consider myself versed on the topic of Poland’s problems, I can say that it was nice to see and read that a publication such as the Economist shares a number of the same sentiments as I do on the country. One thing however really stuck out in my mind, and it is something that I unconditionally agree with. Poland and the Poles have “a tremendous lack of self-confidence”. This problem stems not only historically, where partitions, wars along other things have led to a lack of self confidence, but is often place reinforced by Poles themselves, and especially so when traveling abroad.

Many Poles when going abroad think that they have their nationality Branded on their foreheads, that westerners in general don’t care or react to the Polish in a specific way, or that the large numbers of unskilled Polish workers who worked illegally in the west have given the nation the nickname “Europe’s Mexico”.

All this culminates, in a lack of understanding on part of my countrymen. While, I can say that I felt these assumptions at one point in my life as well, I can say that even with the rest of Poles things are slowly changing. The large numbers of youth who go abroad to work for periods of 1-5 years, if not more, see that they are judged by their attitudes, their work ethic, drive and personality rather than the fictitious brand of “Pole” on their foreheads.

This in turn builds self-confidence in the individual and the term “Polak tez potrafi” (A Pole can also do it) becomes nothing more then a remnant of a certain fabricated national persona – a vestige of a certain past. I believe that it is these people, individuals who want to work towards the betterment of the country, who leave only to learn, and later come back and apply those competencies to business and life in Poland will end up shaping the country, and steering it towards a bright future. And in the end I am glad to say that I belong to this group, and that my work will have a positive effect on the people and the country.

… now, to figure out how to make the government more than a Polish carbon copy of Italy’s.

The U.S.’s South American Intelligence Failure

Ask most Latin American’s what they American Policy is towards their country, and they will most likely say neglect. The United States has done just this since the Monroe Doctrine. It has in effect left South America to rot, thinking that the continent, while a mess, would always lead to support the United States with Oil, Minerals and the like.

However, with the current emergence of populism on the continent, the people of South America are in effect taking a stand against their northern Yankee neighbor, that will in all likelihood come to bite it in the ass.

Take Venezuela’s Chavez, his Boliviarian approach to South America, dictatorial rule, weapons purchasing, and squandering of public funds, along with absurd megalomania are nothing short of crazy, however he has support, and his ideas are spreading. What ideas? Ones about bringing power to the people, American style capitalism in the area has led to divisions between the region’s elite, and the rest of the populace. The same populace that sees nothing in return from this American style capitalism, or at least what it feels to be American style capitalism. Therefore, it is no surprise that elections in Bolivia, and Peru swung towards the Populist Left.

However, the problem here is not with the nations and the people that voted to the Populist Left, to them it’s a change from the historical, and they see it as finally having a voice in the government, a government that actually wants to work for the people instead of itself. Can you blame them?

No. The problem here lies with the United States and it’s policy of general indifference towards Latin America. If historically the US would have paid attention to, made sure to look after honest free markets, criticize those that would exploit the people, the land, and truly try to steer the nations of Latin America towards prosperity, democracy and free market capitalism we would not see the issues we are seeing now. The question is, is it too late? Is the damage we have done irreversible? Or can we woo South America towards us again?

These among others are questions that need answering. But I know that the U.S. needs to turn towards South America, it needs to invest its interests there, and start paying attention to the continent. The worlds polarization is shifting again, and instead of looking at now, we all need to look to the future, and work to ensure a safe, prosperous and free one for all of us, but not by the overt iron hand approach that is currently coming out of Washington, but through mutual co-operation.

Why an MBA in Espain?

While most of my friends here in the U.S. think I am moving to Spain for the sole purpose of drinking myself into oblivion, partying ‘till the sun comes up, and getting one amazing looking tan. I can say that they are all wrong.

While I do need a tan, the fundamental reason behind choosing Spain as my destination of study has nothing to do with the nightlife, if a program in Siberia would be best suited to where I want to wind up in 20 years from now, I would most probably have gone to Siberia. However, Spain’s position economically, it’s rapidly changing economy during emergence from the regime of Franco, and the progress the country has shown is not too dissimilar from what is happening in Central and Eastern Europe at the moment.

Spain’s progress, and development, can serve as an example to post Warsaw Pact states, and I feel that studying in the country personally, as opposed to studying the country’s development from abroad will be a great asset once I begin getting my fingers wet in policy creation.

Then there’s also the issue that I want to perfect my Spanish, I think Barcelona is a beautiful city, and a great place to study, as well as a strong financial center, personally speaking the food is much better in Catalunya than England, The Netherlands, or for that matter Siberia – well ok, and Catalan girls are cute.

But seriously, I unconditionally believe that school in Spain will help me get to where I want to go… so, that’s why I’m getting an MBA in Espain. :-)

My baby's officially up for sale...

My baby, the 1979 Lincoln Mark V: Cartier Edition with 33,781 Original Milesis up for auction... now lets just hope I can get oh... 5-6 grand for her :) Should anyone who stops by here be interested - Here's the ebay link.

Cheers, and help a boy sell his baby :)

My IESE Interview… OY VEY!, or, how I lost my VC virginity + ROJO© Magazine Party & Why it’s a Good Idea to Network Before Arrival

Well to start off I’m not Jewish, but I do live in NY which apparently makes me an honorary Jew, or so I was told once by a Cohen. Anyways, I don’t think any expression better describes my sentiments after the IESE interview than oy vey! And that’s an understatement.

Being the responsible human being I am I was at the VC place at 9:30 a full half hour before the scheduled call. Good thing too as they were doing work on the wiring and couldn’t get the door open (seriously, what was wrong with keys, why do we need magnetic cards).

So we set everything up and waited, waited, 10:10 waiting… they’re not calling… ok? I call them; it turned out I sent them the wrong ISDN No. Steeerike 1. (BTW, I double checked and it was the VC place that sent me the wrong number, bastards!) Then we can’t connect sound and video together, so the tech guy from our end gets on and in that “tech guy belittling voice” tells them to up their rate. Great!!!! Could this start out any worse.

By the way, I should mention that by now I’m somewhat freaking out as IESE is my No. 1 choice, and I really wanted for everything to sail smoothly. So we finally connect, and the admissions director tells me about the wrong No. thing and how it was weird as the wrong number was another VC place, and she thought I was running late, etc… etc…

Anyways, the interview did not go much better. Mind you I was anticipating being asked about my career record, and prepared for it by highlighting certain things on my application the night before that I wanted to point out. As it turned out this was exactly what she asked, and even though I was prepared I started stumbling over my words, using them out of context, umm umm... umm… ing along. Basically, I was a wreck, Steeeerike 2.

Then as if everything else wasn’t going badly enough, the feed would cut out, and come back, specifically at moments when I was about to, or summing up a point, or getting on a roll. Then it’d cut out, my nerves would shoot up, and I wouldn’t finish the question, point etc… in the manner which I’d wanted. Also, I got the feeling that the admissions director thought my future plans were full of it, as being a Pole, living outside of Poland for 20 years, and wanting to involve myself with politics (and yes I know it sounds absurd), and eventually be the nation’s president is no easy task to accomplish. Thing is, I know I can do it, or at least give it my best shot, which will probably leave me as Prime Minister or something ;)

Well… c’est la vie I suppose, if I don’t get in I don’t get in, I go to ESADE instead. Bigh whoop, the school’s been flying through the rankings, and I want to leave my imprint in Barcelona anyway, and it may just be easier to do at ESADE, and truth be told, the school’s been flying north in the rankings. But one thing I recommend, is if you have the option, do not, and I mean DO NOT, interview via VC, face to face is much better, and I’m sure if I was interviewing in BCN, I would have scored plenty of brownie points. Anywho, only two strikes, there’s still a glimmer of hope.

On the bright side of things, I went to Gallery MC for a ROJO© Magazine party last night – see my interests are much broader than simple MBA stuff, and apparently it seems that I’ve started to build my social network in Barcelona a bit early. I met a bunch of people from ROJO©, Raquel Sakristan, and a bunch of people with whom I exchanged contact info who often got o BCN, and/or have friends there. Finally, I got to speak Espanish for most of the evening, which was fantastic, and I was told I have a very minimal accent in the language, and if anything I sound more like an Argentine, or Uruguayan the anything – finally, I will most likely be having my “la vida me llama para salir de Nueva York” party at the space, with the same DJ from last night, the guy was amazing!

And this is my friend Genevieve by one of the works ...

Dinged by my fallback school?

This is rich. I got denied by Georgetown, I mean it may have had something to do with the fact that I submitted my application an whopping three days before the deadline because I freaked out I wasn’t going to get in anywhere and decided to throw in a fallback university in the event I couldn’t go to Europe. But this is rich. Georgetown? No. 5 on my list - constantly ranked lower than ESADE, and RSM, only a few steps above Tanaka… and I get dinged. Well I tell you… these Hoyas have no idea what they’re talking about. Anyways, for your viewing pleasure I present you with the denial letter.

“Dear Mr. ...Jacek...,
Thank you for your interest in the Georgetown University Full-Time MBA Program.

The Graduate Admission Committee of the McDonough School of Business has completed a careful review of your application to our program. Although your application contains certain distinct strengths, we are unable to offer you admission to the Fall 2006 entering class. As I am sure you are aware, admission to the Georgetown MBA Program is highly competitive. We expect to receive nearly 2000 applications for an entering class of approximately 260 students.

We greatly appreciate your interest in our program and the time and effort you put into your application. We wish you success in your search for a challenging graduate program that meets your needs and will help you achieve your goals. Best wishes in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Monica P. Gray
Director of Admissions“

Meh... whatever, wouldn't have gone anyways.

The Student Visa Application Process - for Spain

I step into the Consulado General de España en Nueva York today, holding Passport photos, Schengen Visa application and letter of admittance in hand. I wait diligently on line, and get my little wait number, on it is written in highlighter “STUDENT 4” – Apparently indicating that Student’s one, two and three came before me… am I rambling? Right, sorry.

Here’s what you need for a Spanish Student Visa, if yer an American.
1. Three Schengen Visa Application Forms
2. A Valid Passport for a Minimum of Six Months
3. Three recent passport photos on a white backdrop
4. Proof of admissions as a full time student as Spanish Universidad.
5. Proof of financial means for period of study in España
6. Clean bill of health (physical and mental) issued by your General Practitioner
7. Individual or group travel health insurance
8. If studying 6 months +, a certificate by police authorities indicating an absence of a police record.
9. 100 Semolina’s – that is $100.00 USD people.
10. Additional Requirements may apply.

Note that all documents have to be submitted at the same time, you must have a photocopy of each (times three), and cannot apply four months before and one month from time of departure. Apps take approximately 4-6 weeks to process, and you have to leave your passport at the consulate. There.

Me… didn’t know this, in fact the information isn’t even readily out there, so I hope this helps all the IESE, ESADE, and IE students, and fine... EADA too.

As for me… I went back to work, called my congresswoman and asked if the State Dept. would have any issues with me using my EU passport to enter, live, study, and possibly work in Spain. She said no, and that should I require U.S. consular services I should register as an expat with the US Consulate in Barcelona. I think I'm going to register with the Polish one as well.

And now, I’m ecstatic as I don’t have to waste valuable time running around getting all that stuff together for my visa app – for everyone else going, I hope this helps.

IESE Interview This Week! :o

My IESE interview via Video Conference is on Wednesday and although I should be freaking out, worried, anxious and nervous since the school is my top choice, I am in fact extremely calm and not worried in the least bit.

In fact I’m somewhat looking forward to it, I’ve heard IESE’s AdCom to ask difficult questions, things that you wouldn’t usually think an admissions committee to ask a prospective student. The questions usually seek to identify weak points in the overall application, and to isolate and study the applicant’s reactions. At least that is what I assume from reading the experiences of others.

Anyways, it’s all about acting on your feet, getting frazzle easily, etc… luckily, this is my strong part. Interviewing, public speaking / reading – I love it all, and tend to think I was born to be on a stage / podium etc…

… and everything else excluded, I do hope it goes well. I really do.

Selling the car

To help pay for books, laptop, downpayment, etc... expenses in Espania, I've decided to sell my wee little automobile, should anyone be interested in purchasing it, and helping me fund my education, here's a pic, and I'll throw the e-bay motors link up once I put it up there.

Isn't she ugly... her name's Lucille by the way.

According to Columbia University…

I have a Ph.D. – Below is a snapshot of a letter I recently received from the school’s department of Biomedical Informatics. Somewhat amusing since my only affiliation with the medical community is the few friends I have who are surgeons, and um… well that’s about it.

Anyways, I took a picture of Dr. Jacek with my phone, and am posting it here as evidence that Columbia considers me a Ph.D. – Should anyone care, I did not, by any knowledge of my own ever sign up for Biomed mailings. Strange… but as a Ph.D. would I really want a silly MBA from THEM!? Pfffth! ;)

And here is the pic… notice the highlighted text, my prefix is Dr. :)- Click on the image to enlarge.

Another one bites the dust...

I woke up this morning to find my e-mail inbox filled with a bagillion (yes it is a real number) LinkedIn acceptances – my network grows my pretties – and somewhere in the deep forest of LinkedIn, I found a sole e-mail from Imperial College of London: Tanaka – Opening it up, I saw they want to interview me. Great, except I really don’t want to go as it was my fallback school, I’ve already gotten into ESADE (No.2) and I’m extremely too busy at the moment to go interview with a school I know I wont attend.

So, in my most humble tone, I thanked the admissions woman from Tanaka, and told her that I will be pursuing my MBA elsewhere. I don’t think I had much to worry here, and I don’t mean so sound cocky, but I’m pretty sure could have gotten in. I am kicking myself for not applying to LBS, just out of curiosity whether I could have been accepted. Meh!

At the same time, RSM and I have had a good repertoire, and the committee has been nothing but warm towards me, therefore I feel somewhat obliged to send them a letter indicating that I will go to Barcelona instead, thanking them for the opportunity, etc…

I really wish I could go to three schools, but unfortunately we can’t have our cake and eat it too.

Tanaka Essays coming soon, it’s taking me a smidge longer to write about U.S. Nuclear Primacy / Energy Primacy then I’d initially thought, but I should have the essay up by weekend’s end, and I’m getting me a new Laptop for B. School, a Dell Inspiron E1505. :)

For your viewing pleasure - my ESADE / RSM Essays

First off... I've been thinking, if I get into IESE, i think im 98% Sure I'll do the same thing as I did for my undergrad university and flip a coin. Decisions, decisions... decisions. Who am I kidding ;) I'm going to IESE if I get in :P

Anywys, since, I have been accepted to ESADE / RSM, I feel it in good health to post the essays that I believe helped me secure interviews and get accepted.

You can find the essays by following these links

MBA Call ’08 – ESADE
MBA Call ’08 – RSM Erasmus

As I get accepted / rejected from additional schools I will put additional essays here for all who want to view, review etc… I will say that with each one I was unconditionally honest and tried to reflect on myself as well as I could while trying to show a sense of maturity and humility at the same time.

If some of these essays overlap, it’s because, well… short term career goals and long term career goals, are somewhat the same across the board. I’m not changing them to fit the school. As I said, I was unconditionally honest. Enjoy.

Would I have gotten in, if…?

Here’s the thing… as my responses start coming in, I’m starting to think that my applications were really freggin’ strong. I mean, I had a lower 80’s range GMAT score, and an undergraduate GPA of 2.234. Based on the GPA, and if I were a member of an adcom, I would not, and I mean I would not, let me pass through to the interview stage. I would have rejected my application long ago. But, that did not happen.

In fact, being that I’m getting interviews, been accepted to 2/5 schools, have an interview with another next week, and haven’t heard back from the other two since I only applied two weeks ago, I’m starting to wonder if I could have gotten into some of the powerhouses. INSEAD, IMD, LBS…?

My application was more or less finished, for LBS and all I needed to do was review one essay, but with acceptance to RSM, I said screw it.

Now I wonder… could I have gotten into LBS, Yale, HBS… I guess from now on these questions will fall into the same pit of anathema as “how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?” Oh well.

I will however be posting my essays here tomorrow for anyone who could care, or be interested, they are 100% what I sent and 100% true should some of the material within them seem a tad, um… far fetched.

y ahora, Yo tengo muchos preguntas...

Housing, where how, how much? Visas, do I need visas. Shit, is all my crap straightened out with the Poles, are they going to try and grab my arse for military service, hope not… how can I swindle my way out of that one? And do I need two visas? One for the US passport, one for the Polish one? I’m confused, I’ve got questions… aaah screw it, I’m goin’ to Barcelona!!!!! Let’s go drinkin’ ! Woooo…..

Like any good focused pre-MBA student I went out to celebrate last night with a rare burger from a joint, and a wonderfully delicious mixture of wine, beer, and we musn’t forget tequila. This apparently led to my “ahem” stomach flu this morning, which still involved me being “next day drunk”. I hate next day drunk, and I really don’t remember drinking this much though… but the burger was rare, so I blame it on that. Anyways, missed work, no sick time or annual leave, so I forfeit a day’s salary – crap!

All this however, at least allowed me vegetate around and do some research – go drop off my dry cleaning and head up to the Spanish Consulate to get some info… I got to the consulate just as it closed at 3pm. Spaniards… heh.

So the research… right. Apparently ESADE is brilliant in certain facets and IESE in others, and given my ability to interview, I think I may just get into both. So now there be problems.

I found out that I will need to get my student visa, as I am currently lacking my Polish Identity Card. Wait… the Polish have Identity Cards? Crap, guess that’s one more thing to do. Visa should take a total of 5-8 weeks to process, after which I will need to attain residency status in Espania. Other problems include the fact that I will need to get a Spanish drivers license as apparently a NY one just wont fly over there, and … oh... right, finding a place to live. I haven’t been to BCN since 2001, and I honestly don’t remember distances. Good news, if I find a flat with a few other students I’m looking at shelling out € 400 – 500. Not bad at all after New York, and the apartments are much snazzier looking over there.

Then there’s the matter of snagging a quick € 6000.00 for a deposit, and securing financing for edumacation and life. I’m borrowing more, than less, so at least I’ll be able to live there like a normal human being, and at low rates. Plus I can always throw whatever extra cash I have in a peripheral account earning (at present, it’s floating) 4.5% compounded monthly.

I’m thinking $120,000.00 USD should do. Oh and Mssr. Bush, thank you for funneling dollars into a pointless war, growing the deficit, and in cohesion with other things devaluing the dollar against the Euro so I have to pay more for my education. You know, education is one of those unimportant things. Nucular, love it. You’re a real stand up guy.

Barcelona Bound!

Just got a positive response from ESADE - and even if I don't happen to get into IESE, I'm going to BCN!!!!

Here are some other photos of the place....

The Problem With Immigration

The problem with immigration is not immigration itself; it is a lack of understanding what impact that immigration has on the society as a large. To hear about the current situation affecting millions of immigrants in the US, one would have to be deaf and blind to have missed it.

Regardless, immigration if coupled with assimilation is inherently good for this society, it fills employment gaps where the native population chooses to no longer work, and provides individuals with means to better their own standard of living, and work towards a more successful life for themselves and their families. . Current opponents argue that it will cost the state millions if we extend legal status to immigrants; others argue that these immigrants take good jobs away from hard working Americans. Both these points hold no merit.

Living at present in a densely populated Latin American community, it may just be my lack of exposure to the proletarian classes (sarcasm), but it somehow escapes me that there are lines of well meaning Americans who want to work as Strawberry Pickers, Day Labourers, Dishwashers, Cleaning Ladies, and the like. Furthermore, by extending legal status to the millions of illegals in this country, you are in fact providing a means of taxing their incomes, helping to remedy the already diminishing federal account, and providing them with equal workers rights, further propagating the idea that this country was after all founded on the basis of life, liberty and justice for all. Was it not?

Immigrants, fill the gaps that are lacking in society, these same immigrants are hard working individuals, with morals close to those of mainstream American society, they value family, life, hold the same core belief system – and given they have the chance, they educate their children, who later assimilate into society, and grow to be valuable, contributing members of that society. These are not people who want to destroy us.

However, the implications of this backlash do not only end on the domestic front. The current administration’s perusal of a "freedom agenda" across the world, and its openness to the democratization of former dictatorial states has already created a backlash against this country’s foreign policies. Coupled with Human Rights abuses in Guantanamo Bay, and Abu-Ghraib, this lack of and application of America’s core beliefs to immigrants, does nothing but add more fuel to the fire for those who internationally stand against this countries policies, and makes the whole lot of us look like even bigger Hippocrates.

As an immigrant myself, I will say that no other country could have given me the mobility, the opportunities, and the education that I received in America, but to take that away from future generations of immigrants would not only be a very poor idea, but would go against everything that we stand for. We are, after all a nation built solely on immigrants, a prime example of a melting pot, and to put an end to it now due to unfounded fears would be nothing short of taking a step towards fascism.

So Mssr. Jacek, porque Europa?

It’s obvious that the US is by and far the global leader when it comes to MBA programmes, but as I said before – everything – depends on what you want to do with your life post MBA.

Having grown up in NY, having attended college down south, and then having worked in Europe only a few months in 2001/02 it would have been near impossible for me to make that Atlantic jump – the question then becomes why chose the schools I chose and not something like LBS, Insead, IMD, Oxford: Said, or IE?

While I was applying to LBS, it as well as Said had one huge drawback, they were both in England. As we all know the English speak, well… English, and while I do not doubt the quality of the education and the ease into banking, especially from LBS, I would not be able to pick up an additional language or two if I were to simply “habla Ingles“ my entire time there.

Insead / IMD – they were one year programs, additionally Insead looks down on American applicants, and IMD is in Switzerland, I really don’t like Switzerland, I really don’t like it, and of course IE is in Madrid, I’m likewise not the biggest fan of Madrid, and out of the other schools it just isn’t as internationally heavy as say, RSM.

So, I was basically left with HEC Paris, IESE, ESADE, RSM, and SDA Bocconi, and although I almost applied to HEC… well…. After I got a thumbs up from RSM, I said screw it, I’m saving me some cash.

So why Europe… well you see, I want to work towards the development of Central Europe, I want to work towards European Energy Self Reliance, and I want to see the continent once again stand on its feet and get its head out of the sand, and unfortunately I don’t see it happening… so someone’s got to do something about it… that little megalomaniacal nincompoop - c’e - moi.

... well, at least I can quit my job now.

April 19th 11:07 A.M. – Acceptance e-mail from RSM's Ad-com.



I'm in! It took 9 days, 9 days from the interview to get back to me, and at a cost of € 34.000 for 18 months, it could quite possibly be the cheapest well ranked program EVER! Ok, well maybe not ever, but compared to Columbia's $ 37.000 a year, and IESE’s € 68.900 program cost, it makes you wonder if it’s not worth it just to go and save yourself the headache of a monstrous € 100.000 loan.

Here’s some basic info on the school.

RSM – FT Ranking 24th internationally, 7th in Europe – Average Post Grad Salary $105,578.00 plus bonus - not too shabby, but I wonder if the EBRD or any other development bank will throw that kind of change at me? And I wonder if the schools intl. brand quality will affect my plans of getting jobs at the EBRD, ECB, EIB, etc...

Oh – and a wikipedia link.

Now, I have until May 19th to decide whether or not I'm going to accept. It's a good school, the outlook of living in the Netherlands is not exactly bad, but I'm still waiting to hear back from Barcelona.

I asked admissions at ESADE, as to why my "Check Status" page on their site has been "Documnetacion Pendiente" for the past month plus, whether it was a database error, or something to that effect and if they could look into it, and whether I was missing any application materials. They got back to me within the same day, and although I had forgot to send them copies of my passports and photos, they will be giving me a response this week.

To be quite honest I'm freaking out a little bit… the school's No. 2 for me and should I not get in, I'm going to have to fernagle RSM for an extension, and hope for the best with No. 1 IESE.

Thump, thump, ----- thump, thump, thump, thump, ----- thump, thump - Keeping fingers crossed! And worst case scenario - this is where RSM Students / Alumni are from...

ESADE & RSM Interview

ESADE
In late March I was contacted by admissions from ESADE, they wanted to interview me… mind you this was my 1st interview and I was a tad nervous. We set the interview up for April 3rd (my birthday) at 8:00 in the morning, and were to meet in the lobby of a hotel on Lex.

The night before I was a smidge on the anxious side, so as you can imagine I didn’t get too much sleep… the following morning, crutches in tow, I got all snazzed up for the interview and made my way to midtown.

We met at the hotel, and went to sit in a café where the interview was to be conducted, very informal, and made to put the applicant at ease. Of course at the onset of the interview I was a bundle of nerves, ESADE is my No.2 School after IESE, and this being my first MBA interview I was nervous. However, I told the admissions officer I was nervous and she did a great job of calming my nerves.

Questions that were asked during this process included my future career goals, why I want to go to ESADE, I had to give an account of something I accomplished and how I went about getting there, and a time when someone changed my mind on something.

The questions were fairly standard, even though I had a difficult time answering the one about having had my mind changed on something. I took a while to come up with my answer and the admissions person was more then happy to oblige. In addition we talked about the current political climate in the US and Europe, immigration issues, exchanged ideas, talked about Barcelona, its history and such. I think we talked of approximately two hours, and I left the interview feeling quite good. The admissions officer also indicated that she would put me in touch with a ’06 MBA grad from Poland who just landed a job in BCN post ESADE. Could this have been to test my knowledge of the Polish language?

RSM
Next up was RSM – The Director of Admissions contacted me in early April, and we set the interview up for April 10th. The interview would be conducted by a RSM alum, at her office at approximately 6:30pm.

Once again, I got all snazzed up, and having already gone through the process once, I was not as stressed as the 1st time. I arrived at the alum’s office approximately 15 minutes early, and had security call, to notify her I was here. She met me in the lobby and we went into one of their conference rooms for the interview.

The questions were similar, life goals, why I chose them, why an MBA in Europe and not one in the U.S.? And that was about it. Then I was asked if I had any questions, I asked about life in Rotterdam, workloads, closeness to Brussels, exchange programs, and the like. What surprised me about the RSM interview however was how few questions were asked about me, end of the interview I was told that I had a very strong application, and that I should expect to hear something back within a few weeks.

Two down, more to go… at the time I was still filling out numerous applications, writing essays and so on and so forth… while I did feel that both interviews went well, I wasn’t going to stop filling out the rest of my apps. I needed to leverage my weaknesses across schools, and hope for the best. Little did I know I would fill out only two more applications, instead of the five more I had planned on.

If you think about it though, I applied to both schools on March 26th, was interviewed a week later by ESADE and two weeks later by RSM. Quite a quick turnaround if you ask me... I suppose you have to love rolling admissions deadlines :)